A woman who called her local congressman about her menstrual cycle has earned praise over the unique method of drawing attention towards women’s reproductive health ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

On 26 October, Dara Faye took to TikTok to film herself calling the office of Republican Congressman Mike Garcia from California’s 25th district. In the video, Faye leaves a message for Rep Garcia after the phone call goes straight to voicemail.

“Hi, my name is Dara,” she began the recorded voice message. “I was just calling because I wanted to report irregularities in my period. I have also been having cramping during ovulation.”

“I just figured that Mr Garcia would be interested in all of this because he supports the Life at Conception Act,” she continued. The Life at Conception Act, which was introduced in February 2021 by Senator Rand Paul, would declare that the right to life guaranteed by the Constitution begins at the moment of conception.

“I don’t know if he’s a board certified gynaecologist, I really have no idea,” Faye continued on the phone call. “But I assume if he supports this act, he has a lot of knowledge and I don’t know if I should be concerned or not.”

“So, I was hoping maybe someone can get back to me, specifically Mike Garcia, so we can discuss my menstrual cycle and my ovulation cramps,” she ended the voicemail. “Thank you.”

She captioned the clip: “Involving my local politicians in my medical decisions.”

Faye’s message to the congressman received more than 360k views on Twitter after it was initially shared to TikTok. Thousands of social media users praised Faye for calling out political leaders who involve themselves in issues regarding women’s reproductive health, despite having no medical background.

“Bravo!” one Twitter user said. “Millions of women across the country should leave similar messages with their Republican representatives who don’t support a woman’s right to make decisions about her own body.”

“You’re a genius,” said someone else. “I have some medical concerns to discuss and never thought to contact my representative. Such a good idea. Doing this tomorrow. Love it.”

A third user wrote: “I think every woman in America should call their politicians and ask them to set up their next doc appointment. See if they’re willing to help cover the deductible as well. Never know until you ask.”

Representative Mike Garcia isn’t the only Republican candidate that has taken an anti-choice stance on abortion. Speaking to The Independent, Faye revealed that she was actually inspired to call Rep Garcia after she watched Dr Mehmet Oz, Pennsylvania’s Republican nominee for senate, share his thoughts on women’s reproductive health.

“Abortion should be the business of a woman, her doctor, and her local political leaders,” the celebrity TV doctor said during the Pennsylvania senate debate on 25 October. In a separate video posted to TikTok and Twitter, Faye shared a satirical video responding to Dr Oz’s recent comments on abortion.

“Dr Oz thinks a woman’s medical decisions should be between her, her doctors, and local politicians,” she began the clip. “Because every time my husband and I decided to have a child, we called our local politicians so we could discuss my birth plan and then see if my OB agreed.

Faye went on to jokingly list all the medical issues she’s contacted her “local political leaders” about, such as switching tampon brands, period cramps, breastfeeding, and ovarian cysts.

“That triggered me,” Faye told The Independent, after Dr Oz declared that politicians should be involved in a woman’s medical decisions. “So, I started with making a satirical video about how I update my politicians and I asked them medical questions about my period and breastfeeding.”

Faye even took Dr Oz’s supposed advice and actually called several politicians throughout California about her reproductive health – including her local congressman, Mike Garcia. But no one answered her phone call.

“These politicians, they want to basically control our reproductive rights. They’re imposing on our medical freedom, on our actual health,” she said. “And they also don’t want to be there when we need to call them.”

After posting her video to social media, Faye was shocked by the viral reaction received. Now, she hopes it will encourage other voters to take action – both before and after this year’s midterm elections – and call their representatives.

“A lot of women and supportive men were like, ‘We’re going to call our politicians,’ and you know what? I hope they really actually did,” she said. “That was not my only phone call, so I’m hoping they’re going to because it’s at least some, it’s a small form of protest.”

Less than four months after the United States Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v Wade – which legalised abortion in the US nearly 50 years ago – the future of abortion rights weighs in the results of the upcoming midterm elections.

Five states – California, Vermont, Michigan, Kentucky, and Montana – have issues directly relating to reproductive healthcare on the ballot. If approved, California, Vermont and Michigan could be the first states to guarantee the right to abortion care in their state constitutions. Meanwhile, anti-abortion advocates in Kentucky hope to impose more restrictions to abortion access.

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